Read With Me
by queenofinsane
Summary: She loved to read, and he loved to read with her. Mostly set during the "Turn Back the Pendulum" arc, some is in soul society arc. Fluff, but not romantic until Soul Society arc. Shunsui and Nanao.


**So! I was bored one day when I realized I haven't posted anything since my account opened. I know I posted about four stories within two weeks of opening it, but I felt like I had fallen behind. *Feels ashamed* Weekly shounen jump is coming out with chapters of Naruto faster than I am coming out with stories. Don't expect more than a one shot anytime soon though. I don't have the writing talent for that or the dedication and time. Anyway this is a Shunsui and Nanao fic (does this have a name?). It starts at the "Turn Back the Pendulum" arc and ends around soul society arc. There's some jumping around but it should be clear what part is when. The real story starts about the point where Shunsui meets Nanao on his midnight walk. It's something I totally think could have happened. **

**I own ABSOLUTLY NOTHING! I'm merely borrowing Kubo Tite's characters/world. He can have it all back when I finish. He is too amazingly talented for me to be able to take any credit for the characters or the concept. **

**Read With Me**

The glistening, silver, orb that was the moon hung over the Sereite that night, illuminating the pitch black darkness with its white light. It was a rather calm night, and at first glance one would say there was nothing too special about it, but in reality it was a restless night for the members of Seriete. Particularly for one Kyoraku Shunsui.

He wandered through the buildings of the divisions with a slight nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Oh yes, he had every faith in Lisa, but something bothered him. He wasn't quite sure why. He began to question himself. Had it been right of him to send Lisa into recon? There was a feeling of uneasiness that had settled upon him lately. Not just tonight, for the past couple of weeks he had felt this way. Especially when it came to the subject of Aizen Sosuke. There was something strange about him. Shunsui couldn't put his finger on what exactly bothered him about the young Fuku-Taichou, but that was just it. There was something that bothered Shunsui about Aizen.

When he ran into two guards, he stowed his uneasiness into the back of his mind. No need for others to share his insecurities. During his conversation with the guards he caught, out of the corner of his eye, Aizen Sosuke roaming the buildings, paperwork stacked in his hands. The sight of the Fuku-Taichou… relieved him? That was the word. Relieved. Seeing that Aizen was here and not missing put his mind at rest. It dawned on Shunsui that perhaps he had suspected Aizen for the recent disappearances, and that he was afraid Aizen might try to pull something on Lisa. Cause her to disappear as well… but that was ridiculous. Who was he, to suspect his own co-workers? He chided himself for over thinking the subject and took leave of the two guards.

His walk led him to his own building. The eighth division, and as he rounded the corner he came upon something he did not expect to see. Standing in front of him with a nervous look on her face and a large book tucked under both arms was a small child. Ise Nanao to be exact. He remembered because for one thing she was the youngest in his division, and she came once a month on the first to visit Lisa. She was a bookish child, but very young and, as all young children are, naïve. It amazed him that this child was so young and was already working for Soul Society. What was next? Toddlers?

"Ise Nanao was it?" he asked to be sure.

"O-oh hai!" she jumped at his voice. "I-I'm honored that you remember my name.

He gave her a smile "Well you're the youngest member of the eighth division, and I always make a note, of the young girl's names. Besides you come to see me every month," that's when it hit Shunsui, "oh! Today's the first, isn't it?"

Nanao began to fiddle with the book she clutched and a blush crept onto her face "yes… so I wanted to read with Yodamaru-Fuku-Taichou again this month.

"I see… but I'm sorry. Lisa… isn't here tonight." Once again the nagging feeling that he shouldn't have sent Lisa returned to his mind. It seemed as though Nanao had managed to awaken it.

"How come?" That disappointed tone in Nanao's voice pulled at Shunsui's heart strings.

"She has an important mission."He explained, "Don't worry. She'll be back in the morning, I'm sure," but even as those words left his lips he felt like a liar.

"I see…" Nanao sighed.

Shunsui felt as though he needed to make it up to this child. The offer came from him before he really knew what he was saying. "If you'd like to, you could read with me."

Nanao looked up at him surprised "oh, n-no Taichou… I c-couldn't, no I- I couldn't p-possibly disturb you."

"You aren't disturbing me," he chuckled lightly, "I would be happy to read with you."

"You would? Y-y really would?"

He nodded and sat down on the cool grass. Laying his kimono on the ground he patted the ground next to him gesturing for the young girl to sit next to him. She carefully sat on the pink fabric, making sure not to tear it, and handed him the book. It was large and rather plain faced, not suggesting that anything special was inside. Though this was quite the contrary, the book was actually very exciting, as Shunsui would discover in a moment.

Nanao watched her superior open the book and begin to read. His voice was quite different from that of Yodamaru-Fuku-Taichou's. While hers was rather passionate as she read, his was soft and soothing. It was not as though it sounded bad, it was just something new. The words floated around her, painting a picture of what he read. His tenor voice had a warm, comforting quality to it that made her appreciate his offer. She sat enraptured by her Taichou's voice, as he read the book she had been planning to read with Yodamaru-Fuku-Taichou. Somehow Nanao could tell that Yodamaru-Fuku-Taichou's voice wouldn't have brought the same justice to the story as Kyoraku-Taichou's did.

As he read into the hours on the night his voice took on a rhythmic pattern, almost like a song. Nanao began to doze off. Her head would bob down with her eyes drooped, before she would jerk herself back to attention wanting to hear the rest of the story. However she was young, and not used to staying up so late. The warm summer air combined with the lull of Kyoraku-Taichou's voice was too much, and she soon found herself reluctantly slipping into dreamland.

Shunsui didn't notice Nanao was asleep until he had finished the chapter he was on. He wasn't much of a reader, but he had become so engrossed in the book he was reading aloud to the young girl that he hadn't noticed her struggling to stay awake. Her head was resting on his arm and she was out for the count. He smiled gently at the sleeping figure. He hated to disturb her but she couldn't sleep on the ground all night. He shook her softly until she woke up, her eyes clouded with sleep.

"It's late," he told her, "you need to be getting to bed."

"Just one more chapter," she mumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Perhaps another night," he promised pressing the book to her hands.

She took the large book and bowed, "arigato, Kyoraku-Taichou," she thanked him; then ran off to her quarters for the night.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Lisa did not show up the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. She was gone. Shunsui didn't know wither she was alive or dead, but he still blamed himself. He shouldn't have volunteered her for the mission. Something had happened to his Fuku-Taichou and he felt he was to blame, but no one else did. No one else ever would.

Nanao was taking the loss very hard. Lisa had been like an older sister to her, maybe even more like a mother. She sat in her quarters for a week refusing to come out or let anyone in. Not even for meals. Shunsui tried to talk to her, but when he arrived at her quarters she had opened the door and stared up at him with tear stained eyes. She couldn't blame him for Lisa's disappearance, he wouldn't have known she would go missing, but she could be mad at him for lying to her. "I thought you said she would come back," Nanao whispered.

Shunsui was speechless. What was he to say? That he was wrong? That he lied? That it was his fault? That it was beyond his control? He had a million things he wanted to tell the child, but all that he could come up with was, "I'm sorry." Nanao had slammed the door in his face. She never came back to finish the story with him.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Years had passed since Lisa's disappearance. Nanao's heart had slowly healed, as had Shunsui's; and she was now his Fuku-Taichou. Shunsui had made a promise to himself the day she was promoted. He would protect her for all it was worth, and somewhere between the day he had made that promise and now he had fallen in love with her. No more was she the small girl that stuttered and stumbled over her words in his presence. She had grown into the woman that didn't dare to hesitate smacking him over the head with the large tome she carried for not doing his work. They had both changed.

It was the night after Kyoraku's fight with Yamamoto Genryuusai- Taichou. Nanao sat in her quarters huddled deep into the sheets of her bed with a book in hand. She was trying to take her mind off her nerve wracking encounter with Yamamoto-Taichou. His reitsu had been so powerful; he had paralyzed her with one look. One brief second of eye contact was all it had taken for him to bring her to her knees. The fear and panic he had installed in her had been overwhelming. She had thought her head was going to explode, or that she would burn to a crisp under his gaze.

Then Kyoraku-Taichou had shielded her; he had protected her from Yamamoto's wrath. His presence had been so comforting. She could still feel his arms wrapped around her, and the warm, soothing feeling of him just being there. The fact that he had cared so much had surprised her. Perhaps there was more to his "declarations of love" that she had originally thought.

She tried to dispel these thoughts, but her mind kept straying back to them. A knock on the door was finally able to pull her away from the web of thoughts entangling her mind. Pulling on a robe and slippers she shuffled to the door with her book still in hand, and opened the door only to find that the man she had just been thinking about standing at her threshold.

"K-Kyoraku-Taichou!" she exclaimed, "what are you doing up this late?"

"May I come in?" he asked softly.

She nodded and let him into her quarters. She followed him to the living room and stood in front of him waiting for him to say something. When he didn't she asked him again, "Why are you here so late Taichou?"

"I merely wanted to see if you were feeling alright."

Nanao avoided his gaze and cast her eyes towards her feet, "ano… I'm fine. Arigato… for your concern." She was baffled at her own nervousness. Why was she acting so ridiculous? As she fiddled with the book in her hands she began to feel like a shy child again.

Shunsui smiled and pulled her into a warm hug. That same feeling of comfort settled over her as it had when he shielded her from Yamamoto. She realized with a jolt that this was perhaps the best feeling in the world. The feeling that let you know someone cared, it was better than anything else. It was then that she realized how much he _really_ liked her. No one had ever been as concerned for her well being as he was now. It reminded her of the night so long ago when she had read with him. This feeling of comfort.

Letting go he placed his hands on her shoulders and told her she should get some rest. He was headed for the door before she stopped him. "Wait… Taichou!"

He stopped, "yes, Nanao-chan?" he asked turning his head in her direction. She didn't mind the "chan" so much this time. It was kind of endearing.

"Ano… w-would you like to stay… and read with me?" Her face turned a furious red and she stared at her feet in embarrassment. She

"I would love to read with you."

Sitting next to him on the couch Nanao handed him the large book she held in her hands. Shunsui noticed it was the exact same book he had read to her one hundred and ten years ago. He thought about picking up where they had left off, he remembered the place exactly, as did Nanao, but he decided to start it over. That way he could spend more time with his Nanao-chan.

Nanao leaned her head against Shunsui's shoulder as he read to her, once more mesmerized by his entrancing voice. Again, it became a familiar rhythm, speed and tone changing as he brought the story to life. She quietly listened just enjoying his overall presence. It was the early hours of morning before he finished the book, and this time she stayed awake the whole time.

"You need to get some sleep," he told her closing the book.

"Hai," she yawned and took the book from him as he handed it to her.

"I enjoyed your company Nanao-chan," he told her standing up to leave.

"I enjoyed your company as well sir," she smiled faintly. "Perhaps… you could come and read with me again."

"I would be happy to read with you," he smiled back softly and kissed her chastely on the cheek before taking his leave. Nanao felt her cheeks flush at the unexpected sign of affection, but couldn't help think about how much she looked forward to reading with him again.

**DONE! Kubo can have his stuff back now! This was supposed to be fluffy; the first part wasn't meant to be romantic or creepy in any sort of way. Shunsui was just trying to be nice to her. It's not supposed to get romantic until the fight after Yamamoto. This is my longest fic to date. Somewhere around 2,500 words or so, maybe more excluding the ridiculously long author's notes. That's a bunch for me! I usually write drabbles. And this is probably the one I put the most thought into; Night Rain is somewhere up in "most thought about" as well. This took me about a week to write. **

**Anyway I felt like such a choir geek while writing this. XD I checked both the English AND the Japanese dub (even though the English dub makes them all sound stupid) just to make sure I classified Shunsui's voice as tenor correctly (points way back to the paragraph where Shunsui is reading to child Nanao). I was afraid if I classified it as tenor and it was really a bass that someone would point it out and tell me I was wrong, even though probably very few people care. Then I would feel really stupid. But I checked and I was right, now if you want a bass voice that would be Chad. His voice is so deep (and sexy). But I did feel so choir geeky, though this happens quite a bit. I'll start classifying singers' voices into choir parts like soprano or alto. Like… the female singer from Nightwish (I forgot her name) is a soprano, or Josh Turn is bass. I'll also try raising songs sung by men into the octave a girl would sing. Like I'll sing along with Harry Connick Jr.'s "you didn't know me when" or "a blessing and a curse" up an octave. How much of a freak am I? **

**I hope you enjoyed! Review Please! Constructive Criticism is craved constantly. **


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